North Korea nuclear talks 'at a crossroads'
Talks with North Korea over its nuclear weapons program will be at a crossroads when they resume after a year's break, South Korea's top negotiator on the issue said today.
"There should not be a breakdown," Chun Yung-woo told reporters after flying into Hanoi.
"If we do not make substantial progress, the future for the six-party talks will be very unclear. There should not be talks for the sake of talks."
Chun is to meet tomorrow on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific summit with US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill - who accompanied the South Korean official on the flight from Seoul - and their Japanese counterpart.
Hill said he likely will also meet with nuclear negotiators from China and Russia, the other nations involved in the six-nation talks with the North.
"We have said all along that we want to start the six-party talks as soon as possible but a key element of that is to be well prepared because when we do start, we want to be sure that we can really make progress and so what I'm looking for is an opportunity to talk to the other negotiating teams, several of whom are represented here in Hanoi," Hill said.
